Manga: Self-proclaimed top cop who detained 2 months old baby indicted by TRRC

By Bubacarr Komma January 4, 2022

Superintendent Almami Manga

The Truth, Reconciliation and Reparations Commission (TRRC) is a truth commission in The Gambia mandated to investigate the human rights violations of the former president Yahya Jammeh from July, 19994 to January 2017. 

The National Assembly of the Republic of The Gambia enacted a law (TRRC Act, 2017) which established the TRRC. In public and televised hearings, 392 witnesses testified before the Truth Commission to give evidence of the human rights violations that took place during the reign of former dictator Jammeh.  In 871 days, witnesses shared their shocking and disturbing ordeals. All the victims suffer a lot, some, worse than others but what some of them went through is mind boggling and difficult for any rational person to understand. 

Kaddy Samateh, a victim of May 2016, revealed to the TRRC that, her husband was arrested with other members of United Democratic Party (UDP) and she went to attend their court proceeding in Banjul, but she was arrested and tortured by the paramilitaries 40 days after she had given birth.

“I was subsequently detained with my baby girl at the PIU headquarters for 11 days before we secured bail at the Kanifing Magistrates’ Court. I was discharging blood when I was released. During the time we spent there, we had the same clothes with no proper bath or mosquito net. As a result, my baby had a serious skin infection because she was all along wrapped in one wrapper without any diaper. The officer who used to help me with a diaper was caught and punished. And we were forced to clean the camp daily with other chores”.

According to Kaddy, after one of their trials, they were asked to board a vehicle by police superintendent Almami Manga and when she asked him where they were taking them, he responded by cursing her mother. And they were taken to Banjul police headquarters where she was detained with her baby and Lele Bojang for two days in a tiny cell with little ventilation and without any mattress or mosquito net. 

The TRRC report finds that the PIU and the National Intelligent Agency (NIA) were responsible for the arbitrary arrests, detention, and physical assaults, torture, and inhumane and degrading treatment of the UDP supporters arrested in April and May 2016.

The PIU brutally dispersed the protesters throwing teargas into the crowd without warning. The protesters were arrested, manhandled and some of the women were sexually assaulted. And the detention of Kaddy Samateh and her infant baby Aisha and other women at the PIU for eleven days and being subjected to force labour was a violation of their fundamental rights and freedoms. Their subsequent arrest and detention at Banjul Police Station by Superintendent Almame Manga without any order while on a court bail was a violation of their rights and an affront to the sanctity of the rule of law. 

The commission recommends the authority take administrative and internal disciplinary measures against Superintendent Almami Manga for unlawfully detaining an infant and her mother without a court or other lawful order. 

In reaction to Kaddy´s testimony at TRRC carried by The Fatu Network, Superintendent Mangadismissed the allegations and told The Fatu Network he is ready to go to the TRRC to set the record straight. He went further to say:

“When she was arrested, she was with her baby, all along she was with her baby detained at the PIU. I don’t work at the PIU, I don’t know what happened at the PIU, I only met them at the court and then when I saw her with the baby, I asked her ‘whose baby is this’, she said it’s her baby. I said, ‘but the baby was not arrested’. The baby wasn’t even charged, and she said the baby was charged which is a big lie. The records are there, you can go to the Kanifing Magistrates Court and see for yourself. We told her to give the baby to a family member and she said no.

“Our job is to arrest her and take her to Banjul. We arrested her and we came to Banjul. At the Banjul Police Station, we told them that these people have been re-arrested, their matter is to be heard at the high court now, so you keep them here. I never saw this lady again and she even confirmed that. “When she asked, I told her We’re going to Banjul, that’s all. To insult a lady. Anybody who knows me knows that I don’t use those words. I do not curse people who are even younger than

“Our job is to arrest her and take her to Banjul. We arrested her and we came to Banjul. At the Banjul Police Station, we told them that these people have been re-arrested, their matter is to be heard at the high court now, so you keep them here. I never saw this lady again and she even confirmed that. “When she asked, I told her We’re going to Banjul, that’s all. To insult a lady. Anybody who knows me knows that I don’t use those words. I do not curse people who are even younger than

me let alone a woman. She was not fighting with me; I don’t insult people. That is not my character. If you have the opportunity, ask all of them Nogoi Njie and others about me and keep quiet, listen to their stories. I did not prosecute them; they were prosecuted by the state counsel. And even Darboe himself if you ask him.”

An insider revealed to The Progress Newspaper that Superintendent Manga has indeed detained Kaddy Samateh, her infant baby, and other women. And their detention was registered in the police diary, and he was very erratic and rude to them. 

Superintendent Manga has his fingerprint all over these violations. However, he is using media houses he has close tie with and his close associates for propaganda to sanitize his image. The Progress Newspaper was reliably informed by different members of the TRRC, that the commission have asked Superintendent Manga to send a statement which he declined. But he decided to rely on the media.

That was not the only involvement of superintendent Manga, The Progress Newspaper have received the statement of Lamin Sey whose testimony couldn´t be televised due to time constraints. And we have spoken with him and this is what he said: “Mr. Sowe the deputy IGP, ordered for trucks to come and pick us up and take us to Janjanbureh prison. We were 40 in number 34 of us were men and 6 were women. 

They decided that they would leave the women in Kanifing and the rest of us men would be taken to Janjanbureh. They handcuffed us and threw us behind the truck. We were packed in the truck like sardines. On our way there they were insulting and harassing us, they threatened to assassinate us and bury us 6 feet deep. They were smoking weed in the truck and beating us and pointing their guns at us. It was very crazy as were high. 

On our journey from Janjanbureh to mile 2 prison Banjul, the vehicle had issues and PIU sent buses to pick us up. There was this police officer by the name Prince Manga the nickname of Superintendent Manga. He was insulting and dispersing the bystanders who were trying to take a picture of us. I consider his action as trying to conceal their action of kidnapping us. Because our family did not where we are held and he didn´t want the public to know where they are taking us”

And during their court trial, Superintendent Manga denied journalist access to court, and he was acting quite rude to them.”

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